Ships position
taken from the regular weather observations (only available whilst
at sea, courtesy of Oceanweather.com). Select "South Atlantic" area and click on "Marine Observations". Callsign
is ZDLS1.

Alas another quiet week onboard the Ernest Shackleton for all.
The vessel has remained stopped in a giant ice floe throughout and just
drifting with the wind and current. This meant that all
onboard were able to enjoy Christmas to the full, and at the time
of writing it also looks as though the same will apply for the New Year
celebrations.

On Christmas Eve the carol singers arrived on top of the main hatch
cover to sing to passing penguins and seals.

One or two onboard were disappointed in that their Christmas presents
were buried deep in the hold, having been placed there in the hope that
we would have arrived on December 16 and had at
least a week to discharge the cargo, and presents, to the base. However,
those of us lucky enough to have presents hidden in drawers in our cabins
did manage to enjoy the excitement of ripping off the wrapping to see what
lay beneath.

The Red Room was the focal point for pre-lunch drinks at 1200 and then
all were invited into the Mess at 1300 for a sumptuous meal served, course
by course, by a select band of volunteer waiters and waitresses.

Preparing to sit down to Christmas dinner and the Mess set for the mealClick on images to enlarge>

OLYMPUKES – BOXING DAY 2001

Following the Christmas festivities, it was time to encourage everyone
outside in the fresh air and a small committee arranged some not-so-traditional
Boxing Day activities. Space is at a premium so all events had to
be ingeniously devised to test the participants with due care towards safety
on decks crowded with cargo.

Deck quoits were made out of spliced rope and aimed at the legs of an
upturned garden chair. We lack golf clubs but some useful mallets were
pressed into service for Crazy Croquet, a carefully laid out series of
obstacles consisting of wood and baked bean tins and negotiated with regularly
sized blocks of ice – the score being determined by time taken and the
size of the block of ice at the end. The relay race was cunningly
laid out and more difficult to negotiate than it looked, requiring fancy
footwork (in RBLTs!) and a crawl through cargo nets prior to eating dry
biscuits and downing a fizzy drink before returning, backwards, down the
course. Another challenge had teams blindfolded and guided through
a set of simple but thoroughly frustrating tasks by radio, dexterity hampered
by being on hands and knees, wearing skidoo mitts!

Despite the best efforts of the cooks since we’ve been on board, nobody
has yet managed to put on sufficient weight for proper sumo wrestling!
Pillows were stuffed into boiler suits to achieve the right stature, all
contestants were weighed and the ceremonies of throwing rice, bowing, etc,
duly observed before contestants got into the real business of throwing
each other out of the ring. This event was thoroughly enjoyed by
all the spectators and Jenny Read and Annette Faux provided the best entertainment
of the afternoon with their prolonged and energetic attempts to defeat
each other!

Sumo Wrestling under the Heli-Deck.

The later part of the afternoon saw a number of participants volunteering
to stick their heads in a bucket of cold water, to which had been added
jugs of ice-cubes. A totally insane activity, led by the doctor and
won by Lenny Evans, who maintained a clear lead with 43 seconds.

The last event of the afternoon was Tug of War with a difference – 2
teams alongside each other on the aft deck, pulling the rope through a
pulley. The pulley was unforgiving, there was no way for the teams
to dig in, and to save further agony, the final match was decided on time
and declared a draw by Pete Brigden, the referee.

The day was rounded off with a medals ceremony in the evening for which
Lindsay Bishop had made chocolate medals and Sue Reason had manufactured
rather fetching red rosettes.

Note: RBLT stands for Rubber Bottom, Leather Top and are
the heavy workboots worn by most BAS personnel when south. They are
fitted with a thick felt liner to provide good insulation and so keep the
feet warm. They were not designed for running in races and obstacle
courses!

....and finally it should be pointed out that whilst we are stopped in
one of the world's coldest and harshest environments, there is always
the chance to catch a few rays of sunshine and top up the tan in a sheltered
corner, with a glass of wine to hand!